


Fruit

by jinxed_wood



Category: The Rook (TV 2019)
Genre: F/F, F/M, Multi, Mystalt is just mentioned in this fic, but definitely underpins it, so in it goes as a tag
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-06
Updated: 2019-08-06
Packaged: 2020-08-10 20:26:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 827
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20141482
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jinxed_wood/pseuds/jinxed_wood
Summary: Linda and Myfanwy talk in the cell (fic based on my baseless speculation of that cliffhanger in 1x06)





	Fruit

_"Tempted by the fruit of another. Tempted but the truth is discovered…"_

Myfanwy crossed her arms, leaning back against the cell door to disguise the fact she was shaking, as she tried to shut out the Vulture's half crazed grin out of her mind. There was something unnerving about that guy, as if he knew a secret nobody else could see. 

Linda gave her that benign, seemingly benevolent smile that always put her teeth on edge without fail. She thrust her chin up, Linda Farrier could sense weakness like blood in the water - and how the hell did her former self think this woman was trustworthy? She had more slither than a snake. "I'm listening," she said. "So what do you have to say?"

"I erased your memories because you asked me to," Farrier said. Her eyes were earnest and her voice beseeching; she sounded so sincere. If Myfanwy hadn't seen the footage of herself blubbering into a wineglass and bewailing her own fate, she might have actually believed her. 

"And why would I do that?" Her words came out flat and disbelieving, but Farrier smiled at her as if she hadn't caught the tone of Myfanwy's voice. 

"Because you wanted to be free, Myfanwy," she leaned forward and Myfanwy resisted the urge to rear back. "Not only free of the Chequy, but what you did.... and all the friends you killed. You wanted to walk away without the guilt." 

Myfanwy shivered despite herself. It had the ring of truth and Myfanwy couldn't help but think of the two keys, the choice she'd given herself. They say all good lies have a sliver of truth, don't they? She thought of her former self, pleading to the camera and hardened herself. She had wondered who would be so cruel as to do this to her. Well, now she knew.

"Nice try," she said aloud. "But I've spoken to Nazim and Bronwyn. I didn't _decide _anything."

Farrier's head tilted, her eyes becoming calculating. "No," she said eventually. "No, that was me, like always."

Something bristled in Myfanwy. It wasn't the words, per se, but the way she said them. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Farrier sighed and shook her head. "You were always such a broken bird, Myfanwy," she said. "So much potential and you did everything you could to repress it. Pain, drugs, whatever it took. There is enough power in you to level a city block, and all you would do is _paperwork_." She spat out the last word as if it were something foul in her mouth and Myfanwy almost flinched. "Can you really blame me for jumping at the chance to gain a more willing asset?"

Myfanwy pulled a noncommittal face. That was closer to the truth, she thought, but still not quite there. "If I was so unhappy here, why didn't you just tell me to go? Why the memory wipe?"

"Haven't you figured it out? It was because of the Gestalt, of course," Farrier said dryly. "You and they have been dancing around each other for years. I'm pretty sure they were the only reason you didn't make a break for it years ago, but the Chequy is the only home they've ever known, and you didn't want to leave without them, so…." She sighed. "I could have worked around that, maybe even convinced you that it was better to leave them behind - but then that damned party happened." Exasperated, Farrier ran her fingers through her hair. "When I saw you sneak back into the room together, I knew exactly what had happened, just like I knew there was no way in hell I could even try to convince you to leave without telling the Gestalt first… and, well, I'm sure you can figure out the rest." 

"Oh yes," Myfanwy said hollowly. "The Gestalt is a valuable asset, and you weren't about to hand over a twofer to the Lugat." 

She covered up her startled reaction well but Myfanwy caught it. There was no way Farrier would let a level one EVA go free to roam the world with her sister, even one as fucked up and broken as she was. The moment Farrier had gotten her hands on Nazim, she'd have handed her over to the Lugat in a blink of an eye and then washed her hands clean of her. A slave with no name and no past.

She straightened, stretching out the tenseness of her body. It had been a long day and it wasn't over yet. She looked up at the blinking red light of the surveillance camera. "We done?" The light blinked out.

"Well, you succeeded in one thing," Myfanwy said bitterly as she rapped on the door. "Gestalt will definitely not be following me anywhere anytime soon."

Farrier's eyes softened. "I'm sorry, Myfanwy."

Myfanwy didn't bother to answer as she stepped out of the room, and the Vulture wailed softly as she left the cell behind her.

**Author's Note:**

> It took me a while to clock the lyrics of Squeeze's 'Tempted' and I can't make out if this was the showrunner's sly head tilt at the theme of the episode (Alex/Monica and Conrad/Shelley) or that the Lugat Vulture is some kind of empath/telepath and picking up on Gestalt's guilty vibes upstairs. I may never know! (But it still got into the fic)


End file.
